How Do You Spell G-U-T-B-O-M-B? Poutine, in Its Many Forms

If the French-Canadian gutbomb that is poutine is a trend, then hurrah, we say.

We're fans of the fries-gravy-and-cheese-curd mess, although we prefer the classic incarnation of the dish to the chicken-and-peas version we tried yesterday at Sheep Station in Park Slope.

The bar, co-owned by French-Canadian Martine Lafond, celebrated the Quebecois holiday of St. Jean Baptiste with three special varieties of poutine, a soundtrack of twangy French-Canadian tunes, and a selection of strong Unibroue beer.

Yes, that's a glass of 10.5% Coke-black Terrible--pronounced Te-reee-ble--next to our poutine. And, yes, the sharp dark chocolate notes in the beer paired quite nicely with the salty cheesiness of the poutine. We wish the curds, apparently sourced from Wisconsin, had been a little squeakier, which any enthusiast will tell you is the true mark of good poutine.